Senior writer for The Sunday Age

Hundreds of childcare workers have rallied on the steps of the Victorian Parliament as part of a national day of action to protest low wages.

Parents also joined the rally, claiming their children's education is being undermined by poor pay that sees a up to a third of early childhood educators leave the job every year.

About 500 people from all over Victoria took part in the protest, with thousands joining simultaneous rallies in other state capitals and regional centres.

They complained that Labor's reform of the sector means childcare workers must obtain professional qualifications, yet salaries have not increased to match skill levels.

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Most staff start on the national minimum wage of around $35,000, leading to claims that professionals are being treated as "babysitters."

Jodie Clarke from Park Orchards, who has three children under eight, said she joined the rally to show her support because she was disheartened by how many good people were quitting the job.

"I actually took my kids out of a childcare centre because they didn't want to go there anymore. They just said, 'I don't know my teacher, Mum' because there was a huge turnover of staff in about 18 months," she said.

"I believe consistency is the key to good child development and education, and if they're developing bonds with people that are then broken then that has an impact on their learning capacity."

Lee Devries, a childcare worker from the Monash Community Family Co-operative in Notting Hill, said: "We work hard to look after your children for the first five years of their life and we deserve to be paid more for doing that important job. I'm diploma qualified but I can't afford to buy a house on my wages, and we're just barely keeping up with household expenses."

Jess Walsh, Victorian secretary of early childhood union United Voice, ruled out strike action but called on the federal government to invest in the sector so that salaries were closer to the national average wage of $60,000.

"These workers are delivering professional level education and care, they're teaching a curriculum but they're being paid as babysitters and they've had enough of that. They want respect and recognition," she said.

"Children thrive when they have continuous care from a qualified educator and that's what we're fighting for - the best care for children."

The childcare industry is facing a serious workforce shortage, and reports in weekend papers suggest the Prime Minister is considering a $1.4 billion-a-year subsidy to the private sector to boost wages.

From January 1, 2014, half of all childcare educators must have or be working towards a diploma qualification or higher - which takes two years to complete - while the other half must have or be working towards a certificate III qualification, which is a year-long commitment.